5G expected to be introduced to certain industries by this year: MCMC chairman

09 Jul 2019 / 08:14 H.

KUCHING: 5G deployment could start as early as this year for certain industries, says Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak (pix).

According to him, industries would get higher priority than consumers with the availability of 5G.

“5G can actually be deployed today for industries by pilot and test bed, whereas 5G for consumers might only come a bit later because the use cases for industries are more active.

“The 5G task force established in November last year is coming up with a working frame for 5G deployment in Malaysia, and once the final report is handed in, we could see 5G deployment for certain industries as soon as this year, or by next year, and 2021 or later for consumers,” Al-Ishsal said.

He said this to reporters when met at the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (Idecs) 2019 held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here yesterday.

He added that MCMC had also received applications from certain telecommunications companies as well as other interested parties to carry out the pilot and test beds which MCMC would facilitate.

On Idecs, Al-Ishsal said MCMC welcomed the efforts by the Sarawak government and other countries in holding the conference as it could bring telecommunications companies and users as well as companies with innovative solutions together.

“I understand that Idecs has been held for three years running, and this is a good progression because each year we see an increase in participants from various industries.

“This year, MCMC has a 5G showcase with Maxis and the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and this is an interesting progress because states like Sarawak can leapfrog in terms of digital infrastructure and communication through the new technology that is currently available,” he said.

He also praised the state government’s efforts in their development of infrastructure throughout the state, which was a step in the right direction towards a digital economy.

“It is also to my understanding that the state government, through Sacofa Sdn Bhd, SMA and telecommunications companies such as Maxis and Digi, wish to speed up the upgrade of infrastructure throughout the state whether it is fixed wireless or fibre optic and so on.

“All of this matches and syncs with our National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan, which is an effort from the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia and MCMC to provide infrastructure that is sustainable, thorough, high quality and affordable system,” he said. — TheBorneoPost